By Joe Pisani

Photos by Paul Haring

BRIDGEPORT, June 7, 2026 — They sang, they prayed, they gave glory to God in a Eucharistic procession through the streets of Bridgeport during the vigil celebration of the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, which honors the Real Presence of Jesus — Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity — in the Holy Eucharist.

See Photos From the Mass and Eucharistic Procession

Almost 400 people, members of the diverse lay ecclesial movements of the Diocese of Bridgeport, joined Bishop Frank J. Caggiano at St. Augustine Cathedral for Mass as he thanked them for their work and compared them to the millions of colored tiles that compose the magnificent artwork of St. Peter’s Basilica.

“Today, you and I gather as a living mosaic of Christ,” he told the packed cathedral. “A mosaic made up of ecclesial movements and communities and charisms, some ancient, some new, representing the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, particularly in the life of our church in the last 60 years.”

He urged them to show the Church a better way by coming together and celebrating their differences.

“Each of you has come here, perhaps with a different culture, different language, different history, different background, and yet each of you beautiful people are loved by God beyond your wildest imagination,” he said. “Each of you, like me, are so precious in the eyes of the Lord that he would have died only for you, to save you. Even though we come here in our uniqueness, we celebrate the fact that the mystery of the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus is not only an invitation to eat the bread and drink the cup that will bring us into life, but an invitation to also become a living communion.”

Bishop Caggiano encouraged them in their work for the Church and cited St. Augustine, who wrote, “We eat the Body of Christ to become the Body of Christ.”

“If I may put it simply: We receive Communion to build communion. To be able to see that in our diversity there is something that binds us together. That all of us in our different charisms and movements and communities are taking a portion of the great commission of Christ. All of us are yielding the same fruit in Jesus. Differences — whether they be language, culture, history, character, education, training, wealth, whatever it is — make no difference in the service of Jesus Christ.”

He also urged them to work against tendencies in the Church that “are not meant to unify but to harm.”

“In our Church, we talk of progressives and conservatives, of people who follow Francis and people who follow St. John Paul II, of those who wish to pray in Latin or English or whatever language. Or we say, ‘You do this, I do that,’ ‘You leave me alone, I’ll leave you alone.’ …. My dear friends, that will not do. You and I must show the Church a better way to be able to come together as sisters and brothers and celebrate our differences. The Holy Spirit comes in so many different forms and communities, and we must show the world that what binds us together is the Sacred Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus.”

And while the mosaics of St. Peter’s are immensely beautiful, he said, the beauty of their mosaic rivaled that great art. He said to pray that other communities and movements come to the diocese.

“As we meet one another, we will start to celebrate one another, learn from one another and walk hand in hand, so that the Church may truly begin to see the springtime of renewal that Pope St. John Paul II prayed for. And as we leave this church with our Lord leading us, let us show the world what it means to be a living mosaic in his honor.”

Among the groups at the Mass were the Order of Malta, the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, the Knights of Columbus, the Haitian Apostolate, Third Order Franciscans, the Neocatechumenal Way, ChristLife and ethnic groups from the Vietnamese, Haitian, Latino, Black and Brazilian communities.

Sister Laura Young of the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus said, “It was such a beautiful event, and I loved seeing all the different ecclesial movements represented.” Her colleague, Sister Christine Hoffner, said she was moved by the bishop’s metaphor comparing the groups to tiles in the mosaics at St. Peter’s.

Eileen Masaryk, who represented Cursillo, talked about the importance of the Mass.

“This gathering of the ecclesial movements gives us a chance to meet, to greet, to support and to uplift one another and share in the joy of this great diocese,” she said. “It also brings what we do alive and lets us celebrate our beautiful Catholic faith. We are glowing from within, and the procession is an occasion to glow from without and tell the world about our love of Jesus in the Eucharist.”

Deacon David Flynn, a member of Serra, a worldwide lay apostolate that promotes vocations to the priesthood and religious life, said, “I’m here to support Bishop Caggiano’s commitment to the lay ecclesial movement and pray for God’s grace for their work in our diocese.”

Thom and Anita Field of Serra said, “The Mass was a wonderful celebration of the diocese’s ecclesial movements and communities that bring everyone together in answering God’s call.”

Blanca and Rafael Grijalva of Encuentro Matrimonial talked about how their ministry helps married and engaged couples prepare through their marriage encounter programs.

Marilyn Mitchell of the Holy Spirit Franciscan Fraternity of Third Order Franciscans, who strive to follow in the footsteps of St. Francis, recalled his love of the Eucharist and said the members were happy to celebrate Corpus Christi with other communities.

Sharon Fischer, coordinator of ChristLife, a Catholic evangelization apostolate, talked about the work her members have been doing to bring people back to the Church. She was joined by 14 members of the apostolate who are reaching out to parishes in their evangelization efforts.

In his closing comments, the bishop told the gathering they were “the hidden treasure of the Church” and urged them to push forward in the cause of renewal and bring others back to receive the Sacred Body and Blood of Jesus.